London bound!

 

OK, so I cheated.  The computer backpack isn’t loaded up yet, nor is the black  tote, but they will be shortly. 

What black tote?  Everything looks BLACK!  Well, it is a great carry all tote.  The back pocket has a zipper at the bottom of it, that when unzipped, creates a spot for the handle of the computer backpack to go through so it can ride piggy back…and not fall off.  It has lots of useful pockets and makes for a good travel tote.  My messenger bag purse goes inside very nicely.

Our flight leaves late tonight, so we have plenty of time for last minute stuff on the to-do list, and time to get to the airport before traffic grinds down to a halt.

I didn’t set up any pre-blogs, so I will post as I am able and tell y’all about our adventure.  Come along, if you wanna.

The kitties know something is up, but they are being left in loving, capable hands here at home…just where they both want to be.  They wouldn’t enjoy a cruise at all.

Have yourselves a ginger peachy day.  We sure will.

Life is short…go travel!

Happy feet...not so happy feet!

In anticipation of needing sturdy, water resistant, and comfy shoes for future trips, I purchased these (butt ugly) Skechers...normally a comfortable brand...and wore them yesterday morning. No, Ms Fashion Police, I don't normally wear tennis socks with this type of shoe, why do you ask?

I digress. My left big toe was not happy after only two hours. These puppies are not going to Norway. Enter trusty sneakers:





So these are my walking shoes, with a dressier black pair thrown in for when i need them, along with some glitzy evening shoes. And my trusty Crocs. They don't weigh a thing and have already been all over Europe anyway. I can't travel without them. Ever.

My feet have to be happy. That's not asking for too much, right?!

Cruising requires more stuff than our normal jaunts...more outfits for evenings...and more shoes. MM and I know how to travel light, going to Europe with only two carry-ons apiece. Can't do that when cruising, but that's OK. We take one larger (notice I did not say LARGE) rolling suitcase that we check on the flight, in addition to taking our carry-ons. This is still manageable when we get to our destination because of those wonderful wheels, even on my computer backpack. Never buy suitcases without GOOD wheels.

I am mostly packed and will finish up today. MM is home, and that makes me happy, too. Dirty laundry came as a package deal. He is worth it! Now it is his turn to get packed. I left a little room for him in the larger bag. Really, I did.

Enjoy today. Life is not a dress rehearsal, y'all. Stay happy..........and that includes happy feet, too!

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Good morning, sunshine!

You have been away too long. Please dry us out a bit...and stay awhile. We are growing mold, and that is not attractive. Nor wanted.

I am making progress on the travel prep front. Hair cut needed today while I am in town doing errands. And today is MM's final day on his mowing (paid) job! I am glad about that. That boy needs a rest. And a cruise! He's earned it. Oh yes, that cruise is SOON! And no toe inspection on this one, since it is in a chilly part of the world. No flip flops needed on this trip!

Today is a rest day for the Tour. I especially enjoyed yesterday's climb because MM, Brian and a friend of his were right there at Mont Ventoux for the '03 Tour. Beautiful country. Brutal mountain, not that MM and I tackled it on a bike. The kids did though. We enjoyed a beer while waiting on them.

So it is a brand new day, and a brand new week. Make it a good one. We only go around once, y'all!

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Nature's demolition

Up until two nights ago, this was a tall poplar tree. MM was awakened by heavy rain and lightening, followed shortly by the explosion of this tree, about a quarter of a mile away from the Airstream. The tree top was blown quite a distance from the split trunk and all the chunks of debris. This is more mess for MM to clean up! The land sale is next Saturday, so the property has to look nice and neat, along with the mowing. We will lift a toast from onboard the ship that the sale goes well. It's the least we can do, right?

So the suitcases are out, packing list printed, purse changed, and the bedroom littered with stuff to sort through and decisions to make. Pretty much same old/same old goes on every cruise, so it won't take long to pack.

Happy birthday to our sweet Faith! We are blessed to have you in this crazy family.



Have yourselves a ginger peachy day, my friends.

Life is mighty good!

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One week and counting!

One week from today, we will board Holland America's ms Ryndam in Dover, England, heading to the beautiful country of Norway.

This was on MM's bucket list to do, and so we shall. We visited Bergen and Oslo on a previous cruise, but this one continues up the beautiful coastline above the Arctic circle where temps are in the mid 50 range right now. Yikes! Which coat to take???

So the next few days will be mighty busy getting ready to leave. It is time to print out my packing list and checking it twice.

Kitty sitter can be checked off the list already, but don't mention this to the babies yet.

Have yourselves a ginger peachy day. My assistants are napping already. Typical.

Life is good in the GA Alps, y'all!

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14 for breakfast

 

All duckies were playing mostly nice…they don’t entirely like to share…until a big mean fish came along.  He stayed around the edge of the group, then he must have taken a nip of a webbed foot because the ducks got scared, squawked (giddy up, boys and girls!), and all of a sudden as in one big body fled across the cove to safety and out of reach. 

We have interesting critters here in paradise.  MM and I saw one of the foxes near the shop the other day.  Apparently there are at least two, because one has a white tip on his/her tail.  This one didn’t.

So where is our cruise going?  Well, we fly to London where we’ll spend a couple of nights before boarding a ship heading from Dover up to Norway and back.  Norway only; no other country.

Mowing Man wanted to go back and see more of Norway than we saw on our previous cruise, so we shall.  He has earned the right to pick…literally.

We won’t need any short-sleeves or flip flops, since we’ll be going up into the Arctic Circle.  I’ll be packing fleece and ear muffs!

This will be another fabulous adventure.  Come tag along!

MM’s mighty, mean, mowing machine

 

Not only is this machine a mower, it is a mulcher.  MM raises that large mower deck up into the bushes and vines, then does another pass or two to mulch up the mess.  One machine, very efficient.  One fine operator, too.

He has discovered that privet is a bushy kudzu, and it takes over everything, just like kudzu does here in the south.  At least the cab is air conditioned.  And he has his iPod for entertainment.  And is getting paid!

But his boss has him on a different job today, on the (relatively) small mower now, making some more cruise money!  Yeah, baby!!!

Hello, busy Tuesday.  More rain is headed our way, but at least we enjoyed sunshine yesterday for the first time in ages, and MM can mow in the rain.

Be careful, honey.

Thanks for all the anniversary wishes.  We had a celebration dinner with most all the kids last night, always a rowdy gathering.  Photo?  Nada.  And how many cameras were at that table???!

It’s just another day in Mayberry, where life is good, y’all!